The Vampire Slayer
by ihobbitses
Summary: AU. Caroline Forbes has accepted her role, but things in Mystic Falls are getting more complicated when a new Vampire family arrives in town.
1. Part 1 Chapter 1

**Part 1**

_**Chapter one**_

Swish.

Swivel.

Flick.

Swing.

Thud.

Sigh.

Caroline rolled her eyes and turned to face Alaric, who was pinching the bridge of his nose again. "That's it? A sigh? That's all I get?"

"Well, maybe if you could actually hit the heart."

The blonde looked back at the dummy that was set up in the middle of the library, facing her with its drawn-on face. An axe with a chiseled-pointed end protruded from its 'shoulder'. She shrugged and turned completely to face her Watcher.

"I wasn't aiming for the heart."

"Then what, prey tell, _were_ you aiming for?" Alaric gave her a questioning look without even a side glance at the dummy behind her.

She rolled her eyes, "The neck, obviously. It's an axe..."

He stood up and walked past her, pulling the axe from the stuffed shoulder. "I know its an axe. And yet, you still missed."

"I didn't miss!" Caroline threw up her hands in exasperation. "I just didn't want to chop of Albert's head!"

Alaric gave her a pointed look, handing the axe out to her, pointy end first. Caroline took it, holding it up in front of her. Alaric moved to her side without another word, obviously giving her the go ahead to try again.

Swing.

Swivel.

Flick.

Thwack.

Thud.

* * *

The fabric swishing sound can be heard from the pom poms being flung around in an excited manner, spelling out GO MYSTIC.

Caroline is at the head of the triangle, all smiles and cheeks. And lets not talk about those legs.

Swish.

Twirl.

Flick.

GO MYSTIC.

The Mystic Falls football teem waits for their turn in the spot light, just about every set of eyes glued to the blonde and her feisty crew of cheerleaders. No one can deny the authority she holds over the girls as she maneuvers them in their well-practiced cheers.

Finally, the girls end in a stomping kneeling-standing combo and they're done. All of them stand and run around, clapping and its a whirl-wind of hair and poms.

Two cheers from the stadium can be heard the loudest and Caroline finds them immediately: Stefan and Elena. She knows without a shadow of a doubt they're only in the room for her, and it's the best feeling in the world.

The team runs out on the field as the cheerleaders take their seats on the frontline.

Stampede.

Thud.

* * *

"Come on, Care. I promise it wont be that bad. Just this once?" Caroline slams her locker closed before looking at the doe-eyes staring back at her, locking her into their deep, dark depths. Elena's even got the little twitch going in her bottom lip, _damn her._

It doesn't sway the blonde one bit. "Absolutely not, Elena. Too dangerous."

Caroline then turns, ready to make that the final word, as she begins to walk away towards English class. She should have known better.

Elena quickly catches up to her, seeing as she's _also_ going to the same room, and Caroline can _feel_ those browns trying to pry her skull open and pick at her brains.

Must. Resist.

"We could help! You shouldn't be out there alone, you know." Elena quickly changes tactics, like Caroline wouldn't recognize that move. Turning the tables on her... _bad form, Gilbert._

"No."

They make it to the English room quickly, and Caroline quickly opens the door before her best friend can pull another argument out of her a- derriere.

Weirdly enough, this proves to be an excellent diversion from the subject, since their English teacher – Mrs. Bradly, wasn't the face that greeted them from the black board.

"Hello, ladies. Just on time. Please, take your seats," said a bold English accent.

Both girls stood in the doorway with looks of shock on their faces while the man went back to writing on the board, the scraping of the chalk reaching their ears. It seemed strange that Mrs. Bradly was absent, but the accent was pretty unnerving too.

It wasn't every day you had an English teacher for English class, after all.

They recovered quickly though, rushing in to take their seats next to each other. As soon as they settled in, the second bell rang for the period to begin. Elena and Caroline shot each other a look before the accent started speaking again.

Caroline made it a point as the man turned around to take in his appearance; nice suit, though not too expensive; well groomed, though he didn't look like he was trying to over-do it; and the lines around his eyes gave a clue to his age and demeanor. In other words, he was just a grade above an average teacher.

Definitely not just a sub. _Interesting._

"Class, as you may have noticed, your lovely teacher, Mrs. Bradly is out. I'll be covering her position for a while while she's out on her well needed vacation." He paused to look around, his eyes landing on Caroline for just a fraction of a second before moving on. "You may call me Mister Slater."

Caroline could see Elena shoot her another look out of the corner of her eye, but didn't dare move to look. Something about the way this guy spoke left her thinking there was no room for messing around.

There was a light murmur around the glass as a couple of the students said hello out of politeness, but mostly there was just the usual rustle and creaks as students got more comfortable.

"Shall we then?" Mister Slater asked, his eyelids raising.

* * *

Swish.

Thud.

Swish.

The wind blew through his wolf coat as he ran along the forrest that lined their destination. It had been a long run, and he could practically feel the excitement threatening to explode out of him.

This was the only time he could even attempt at letting himself go. To feel free. Leaves crinkling under the weight of his paws crashing lithely through the trees.

His ears twitched at the sound of someone coming, and then another someone on the other side of him. It only took him a moment to realize they were on two feet each, and just about keeping up with him. _Vampires._

Without faulting his step, he took in all the scents around him and his senses were filled with both familiarity and foreignness. He recognized the smell of the trees and underbrush, though the place itself he had never been. And then there were the vamps on either side of him, rushing to keep up with him.

He recognized their scent immediately, feeling the slight tension between his shoulder blades loosen. _Good, they're keeping up._

Then, he was putting on the breaks, skidding to a stop on all fours as the treeline came into view. He stopped just before the dirt became rock and he walked to the edge.

Looking over the rock ledge, he saw it was just a small drop, maybe twenty-five feet – barely even a hop – but he took the moment to look over the town in front of him. The lights were all on as it was night time, probably somewhere around ten or eleven. He could hear the faint sounds of night life, though not much.

_Small towns, _he thought sourly. _Although, they do hold some appeal._

"Where are you going to start?" Came a female voice behind him, to his left.

The wolf rolled his eyes, knowing full well his sister knew he couldn't speak back in this form. It was her way of getting him to Change.

So he did.

It was painful, but over time he had become good at Changing quickly back and forth. Each bone molding around the new muscle while tendons merged once more.

Within a minute, he was standing, now a man. A very naked man.

"The north cemetery," he answered finally, turning behind him to look at Rebekah.

"Perhaps," said a male voice to his right, "you should put some clothes on first?"

He turned to look at his brother, a smirk pulling on his lips as he said, "Thank you, Elijah. Always looking out for me."

Elijah wasn't looking at him, but holding out a set of neatly folded clothes towards him. "Someone has to think ahead, Niklaus."

Klaus just rolled his eyes and took the clothes. He couldn't help but notice that Elijah's suit looked barely even ruffled, and just as he was noticing, Elijah began to straighten up the very expensive Italian tie.

Slipping into the jeans, henley and pea coat, Klaus looked back over at the small town lights in front of him.

"Oh, I am thinking ahead."

"And what about the Slayer?" Rebekah's indignant tone asked.

He grinned, "All in good time, little sister."

* * *

"Alaric, please, tell them they're not coming!" Caroline practically screeched as she stormed through the swinging doors of the library, Elena and Stefan following quickly behind her.

Last bell had just been called to signal the end of the school day, which meant that the trio found themselves in their usual hangout spot right after school; the library. Usually, Elena and Stefan would just watch Caroline train, or do homework, but this visit was much different.

Caroline threw her bag down on the front counter and looked around as Alaric walked out of his office, book in hand, as per usual.

"Hm?" he asked, obviously having not been listening to her as they walked in, also as per usual.

Caroline rolled her eyes. "They're trying to persuade me they should come. Again. Can you please tell them how bad of an idea that is?"

Alaric snapped his book closed and looked at the pair next to Caroline. "It is very dangerous, and the council would absolutely disagree with the Slayer training, or even Slaying with other people that were not her watcher."

Caroline threw her friends a triumphant smirk.

"However," Alaric began again, with a protesting glare from Caroline, "they would also say that a Slayer isn't meant to go to school and should study solely on her Slaying duties."

There was a long pause as everyone, including her Watcher, looked at Caroline. "So?!" she exclaimed.

"So... Personally I don't see any harm in them accompanying you. After all, tonight should just be a run of the mill, raise-and-stake."

Caroline could feel their grins burning into her left side, but her penetrating glare was meant just for Alaric at that moment. "You're kidding, right? This is a joke."

"Well I wouldn't suggest you pull Stefan and Elena into a crypt full of hungry vampires, but as you may have noticed, we have a missing teacher," Alaric said, moving towards them and setting his ridiculously old looking book down next to Caroline's bag on the counter.

"Mrs. Bradly? I thought she was just on vacation?" Stefan asked, finally piping up.

Alaric rolled his eyes, "They're always '_just on vacation_', aren't they?"

Caroline sighed, "So the school just didn't want to freak everyone out by saying she's dead." It wasn't that surprising, unfortunately. For whatever reason, the town almost always thought it was better lying to the students when someone died around here. She could understand the younger kids, but high school students? All one had to do was look in the paper.

"It would seem so. She's buried in the north cemetery."

Caroline's lips turned up in a sour face, "Great. I hate when I have to wait for them to wake up... They really like to take their time."

Turning, she noticed both Elena and Stefan were giving her a look. "What? It's true!"

Both rolled their eyes in unison.

"So..." Elena turned from Caroline to Alaric, "Does that mean we get to go with?"

"Just this once."

* * *

"Ugh! I'm so bored!" Elena exclaimed, her head falling into her hands as she sat on the picnic table that was oh-so-conveniently placed near the gravesite of the late Mrs. Bradly.

Caroline used an extreme amount of force to contain her eye roll. They had only been sitting there for two hours, and it could be another two before their teacher decided to raise from the dead.

"I thought you said this would be '_too dangerous_' for us?" Stefan asked, with only an ounce of sarcasm.

"It is."

"But this is- well... dull."

Caroline looked over at him, "Well excuse me, but I never said the Slayer life was super exciting!"

"Yeah," Elena interrupted, "but watching you train with Albert is less boring."

"We really need to stop naming the dummy," Caroline sighed.

All three shrugged.

Then, _thank god in heaven,_ a rustle could be heard. Definitely the sound of dirt moving. Oh- and definitely coming from right in front of them.

As they watched, Caroline sighed, getting up from the bench seat and grabbing the axe that sat on the table behind them. Giving it a small twirl as she walked over to the grave, she stood on the edge of the dirt, waiting impatiently.

And waiting.

She watched as another hand emerged, clawing around with the first. She waited some more. Then it dawned on her. _Oh sweet jesus, she's stuck._

Moving forward quickly, Caroline reached out with one hand, grasping one of the _very_ dirty hands that was attempting to climb out, and yanked. Slowly, she was able to pull out a head, torso and then slowly the rest of the body toppled out of the grave.

The vampire, Mrs. Bradly, stood up straight, wiping off the now brown-white blouse she had been buried. Apparently giving up, she sighed and looked up.

Caroline didn't even flinch at the sight in front of her, Mrs. Bradly with dark eyes and black veins moving down her cheeks, like a sick blush for a Halloween joke. The really horrendous part was her outfit; white blouse that looked about two decades out of date and... She couldn't even explain the pants she was wearing. The expression on her face twisted into one of confusion, "Caroline?"

"Yep," the blonde said casually.

"Why are you here... Why- god, I'm starved."

"Yep," Caroline said again.

Then, without further ado, Mrs. Bradly charged, fangs bared, and long nails out like talons.

With a flick of her wrist, her axe was propped in her hands, pointy end out. Another second later, and it was puncturing Mrs. Bradly's chest cavity, and with little extra force from Caroline, the wood was through her heart with a sickening squelch.

Within another few seconds, her former teacher began to turn grey, like a dried up vegetable. It was tragic, really... That her last moments had to be in _that_ outfit before she burst into ash on the ground.

Caroline sighed. This hadn't even made her tired... It didn't even take any effort, really, unless you count pulling Mrs. Bradly out of the grave _for_ her.

The Slayer was brought out of her reverie when she suddenly heard clapping. At first, she thought it was Stefan and Elena being ridiculous, but then as she turned, she saw someone else. A man, in jeans and a pea coat.

She gaped for a moment, though her senses were instantly on high alert, raising her axe almost subconsciously.

"Now now, sweetheart, there shouldn't be any need for that," the man began, and Caroline ears were pleasured instantly by his sultry accent. "I merely stopped by to introduce myself, and I was caught up in your little scene."

His last words snapped her out of the trance she was in, her eyes in the middle of scanning his rather handsome face. "Excuse me?"

"Well, you certainly got the job done, but you'll have to admit it wasn't exactly a fair fight." He paused, as if to go over the scene again in his head, and Caroline crossed her arms over her chest, axe still firmly in hand. "Or even really a fight at all."

She cocked an eyebrow, "Would you like to be up next? I have some pent up energy I need to get out, and your arrogant face is just begging to be slapped." _Handsome arrogant face._

Before Caroline could even fully smirk at him, his eyes had gone angry and he was in front of her in a flash. It was like he moved twice as fast as any normal vamp, and she was used to keeping up... but that was... _fucking fast._

"I would watch your words, love. I have been known to have a temper." He was so close to her, she could feel his sweet breath ghost over her face and she couldn't help but take a step back. Something was severely off about this guy.

"And _who_ are _you_, again?"

Caroline whipped her head around to see that Stefan and Elena had moved towards them, concerned looks spread over their faces. She couldn't help but feel a flare in her heart – she really wished they hadn't come tonight.

Everything about this guy spelled _DANGER._

To her surprise, he didn't even seem to flinch at Stefan's question, nor did he look away from her as their eyes locked. "Niklaus Mikaelson. New resident of your fine town, and I just wanted to acquaint myself with the Slayer. After all, she's quite well known – or at least her lineage is." His full lips formed a wolfish smile before he was suddenly turning and walking away.

He turned around when he was about three headstones away, walking backwards, his gaze only falling on Caroline. "Until we meet again, Slayer."

Caroline grimaced, "It's Caroline, actually."

This seemed to stop his retreat, if only for a moment, his gaze fixed on her as something flashed over his expression, though she couldn't make out what it was. "Very well. I'll see you soon, _Caroline._"

And then he was gone, like a swish of the wind.

"What. The hell. Was _that_?" Elena whispered, rushing over to her as Caroline dropped her arms to her sides.

She shrugged as Stefan joined them, looking as concerned as she had ever seen him. "I guess, that was _Niklaus Mikaelson_," she said, using a fake accent to accentuate his name. She began to walk away, towards the exit of the cemetery, and her friends took her flanks.

"That was really weird..." Stefan muttered beside her.

"Yeah..." Elena emphasized.

They reached the gate in silence and Caroline finally turned around, her eyes glaring daggers at them. "And next time, you are _staying home_!"

* * *

By the time she got home, Liz was gone already. Off to the station, as usual. Caroline sighed, walking into the kitchen with her bag, axe hidden inside. There was a note on the counter.

_**Missed you again. Hope you had fun at Elena's. See you in the morning-**_

_**Love, Mom.**_

Caroline balled the note into her fist, the paper crinkling in protest. She knew her mom's work was important, being the Sheriff and all, but between that and her secret Slaying duties, she barely even saw her anymore.

Not that she had really seen her much since Bill had left five years ago, but her heart still missed the late night movies with junk food. Hell, she would even take a lecture or two with grace if she got one night with her mom without complications or excuses. On both their parts.

Leaving the kitchen, Caroline made her way upstairs to her room. She dropped her bag on the chair in front of her desk, then began to get ready for bed.

Just as she let her somewhat dirty shirt fall to the floor, she felt something... Quickly, she grabbed her tank top that she planned on wearing for bed and yanked it over her head. Her spine tingled, and the hair on the back of her neck prickled to life.

Someone was outside her window.

Rushing over to the window, she slid it up and open, flinging her head outside to look around.

But there was no one.

With another heavy sigh, she closed the window and locked it. She found it comforting that no vamps really knew where she lived, nor did they ever come calling for a fight, but sometimes she couldn't help but think that her job sometimes made her a little paranoid. Always seeing dangers when there wasn't any.

But the feeling wasn't going away...

it was going to be a long, restless night. Again.

* * *

Yeah, I know... another multi-chapter story.

But I promise, I have A LOT planned for this... At least three Parts, pretty much planned, then either more Parts or a sequel.

I know I have to finish TCG, but for some reason, this story has been screaming at me in my head to be written, and it seemed to be the only thing to break through my writers block.

As some of you can probably tell, its a like a big crazy mix of BtVS and TVD. Hopefully in all the good ways. (;

Please, if you could find it in your hearts to tell me what you think... I would say I will love you eternally, but that's already happened.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter Two**_

"So all he said was his name was Niklaus Mikaelson?" Alaric asked for _at least_ the fourth time in the last hour. Caroline had waited until the next morning to go to him about what had happened the previous night during her stake-out.

"Yep. He was English or something... and-" Caroline began, but cut off. How could she even begin to describe the man she had met? That he was probably sexier than adonis reincarnated? That his voice sounded like a orgasm dripping from every syllable? _Probably not_.

Apparently she was lost in thought, because Alaric cleared his throat, pulling her out of her fantasy that was quickly getting ahead of her.

"AND," she quickly continued, trying to act like she hadn't just drifted into Mikaelson land, "there was something _off _about him."

"Off?"

"Yeah. I don't know how to explain it... I couldn't really get a sense of _what_ he was, other than he was definitely _not_ human."

Alaric nodded, beginning to turn away. "Alright, well, did he say anything else?"

Caroline watched him as he moved over to his office and out of sight. "Not really," she began, raising her voice so he could hear before he came back out of his office holding a stack of old books. "I mean, he said he was introducing himself; that he was a new resident and wanted to meet me."

Her Watcher looked over at her with a questioning gaze as he set the books down on the table she was currently leaning on. "I see. Well, did you get the sense he would be staying long?"

She opened her mouth to speak just as the first bell went off to signal the start of first period. Caroline sighed, hopping off the desk and grabbing her bag from the chair beside her. "I hope not," she grumbled as she walked out of the library.

* * *

"So how long are we staying in this god-forsaken town, anyway, Nik?"

His sister's voice could be heard even over the sound of machinery and hammering as construction workers moved quickly to build what was going to become a mansion in front of him.

Klaus didn't hurry to look away from the work to look at his sister, and when he did, his eyes opened slowly with exasperation. "We've been over this, Rebekah. We'll be here for as long as we need while we look for _him._ All our sources are saying that he will be _here_, in this town."

Rebekah gave him a pout and his gaze tightened in annoyance, "I for one would be glad to be rid of him, wouldn't you?"

"But do you really think it's a good idea to go _looking_ for him?"

"That wasn't a 'no'," he pushed.

Rebekah flung out her arms in a rush, "Of course I want to be rid of him! We've been running our whole lives!"

"Then I fail to see the problem," Klaus said, turning back to look at the work in progress. "Just go compel your way into school and show those girls how it's done."

There was a huff from behind him, and hew new immediately he had hit the mark. Rebekah loved to show her female dominance over others, and if there weren't others, then she would _find_ some.

"Fine," she said finally, earning a grin from Klaus that she couldn't see, "I'll see you later. Have fun doing... whatever."

And she was gone. For now leaving Klaus to get lost in his thoughts again.

Almost all of his plan was in place, he just needed to work out this Slayer. She wasn't exactly what he was used to, but he was sure he would get around her eventually. And if that didn't work?

_Then I'll kill her._

* * *

The school day had gone by relatively easy, even with the new English teacher giving them a ridiculous amount of homework. Caroline had found Elena and Stefan in the library as usual at the end of the day, Elena writing in her diary, and Stefan immersed in his homework.

Caroline had already changed into her Cheerleading uniform, ready for practice. There was barely ever a day during the school year that there wasn't some kind of practice, unless of course there was a game or vacation.

Or Slayer duties, though after a year or so, she had learned to manage school, Cheerleading and Slaying with barely breaking a sweat. After all, Planner was Caroline Forbes middle name.

As she walked towards them, Alaric came out of his office, carrying yet another book. She was still waiting for the day that Alaric would run out of books to read through and just get himself a damn computer.

"Hey, did you find anything on our guy?"

Elena and Stefan both looked up at her question, waiting for Alaric to answer. It seemed that their first Slaying night had been more exciting for them than she had thought. _Damn._

Alaric shook his head, "Not yet, but I know I've heard his name before." He sighed, and walked over to take a seat next to Stefan, placing a book on his notepad without even blinking. Stefan glared at the book in front of him like it had puked in his lap.

"It would help," Alaric started again, arranging a few more books in front of him before looking over at Caroline, "if you could tell me what he _was_."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "If I knew what he was, I would have told you. I just got a weird vibe off him..."

Elena perked up, closing her diary and taking one of the numorous books in front of Alaric with a smile to the librarian. "Well, at least we know we're not looking for a vampire. Go to practice, we'll figure it out."

Caroline grinned at her best friend before nodding, "Alright, well if you need anything, I'll be in the gym."

It took less than five minutes to get to the gym, and most of the girls were already there in their uniforms, all huddled in a circle chattering excitedly. The blonde narrowed her eyes and walked towards the group.

"Whats up?" She called out, bouncing into the circle. It only took a moment for her to realize that she didn't recognize one of the girls there, and _that_ someone was what everyone was so excited about.

"Hey, Caroline," Allison, the short red head next to her began, instantly perking up to try and be the first to welcome her. "This is Re-"

"Rebekah," said the new blonde in front of her, effectively cutting Allison off and reaching out her hand towards Caroline. "And you must be Caroline, the captain? The Principle said I should find you and tell you I'll be a new entry to the squad."

Caroline held out her hand, a bit baffled, and almost pulled her hand back instantly. It was like a rush of cold through her arm, threatening frostbite. All her spidey-senses screaming _Vampire!_ inside her head. Holding back her grimace, she shook the blonde bombshells hand shortly and firmly before letting go.

Rebekah merely grinned, but Caroline could see something else in her eyes. _She knows_, Caroline thought to herself, but for the life of her she didn't know why a vampire would want to be on the same high school Cheerleading squad as the Slayer. Or a Cheerleading squad at all, for that matter.

"So the girls were just telling me some of the moves you've been doing. And as a former captain at my last school, maybe I could give you a few points?"

The words were so sweet and innocent, but Caroline's blood instantly began to boil. This vamp wanted to give _her_ pointers on Cheerleading? _SERIOUSLY?_

Biting her tongue viciously, Caroline merely gave her a tight smile and a polite nod.

_Bitch alert._

* * *

"It was the worst friggin practice ever! It was like she was just going to take over or something! Well screw her and her hauty-taughty '_I was captain at my old school_' crap! I mean she's a _vampire_ for Christ's sake! What does _she_ know about Cheerleading?"

Caroline was pacing back and forth in the middle of the west cemetery, kicking a stray stick into the woods about thirty feet away out of pure frustration.

Elena and Stefan shared a humored look before turning back to their furious fair-haired friend before Caroline could notice. She hadn't even given much effort to warding them off Slayer patrol duties that night, because she was so busy complaining about the new student, Rebekah.

"I'm sure she's not _that_ bad, Care." Stefan spoke up, instantly regretting it as the blonde turned on her heal to glare daggers at him. Well, at least her axe hand was still at her side. "Have you spoken to her outside of practice?"

"No!" Caroline cried, throwing up her hands and causing them to flinch away automatically as the axe came up and then down again. She didn't even seem to notice. Taking a deep breath, Caroline went on, "I mean, I didn't see her at all today, and then suddenly she's taking over squad practice. Like _I_ even need help! And why the hell is a vampire going to my Cheerleading practice, _anyway_!"

Apparently Stefan's question hadn't distracted her at all, so Elena jumped into action, getting up quickly, "Maybe sh-"

But she was abruptly cut off when something suddenly charged into her, knocking her to the ground. Stefan yelled and sprang to his feet, but Caroline was even faster, running to her friend and grabbing at the _someone_ that was on top of Elena.

"Hey!" She yelled, pulling the person to their feet, only to realize that _obviously_ it wasn't just some random mugger charger Elena in the middle of a cemetery, but a vampire. Without missing a blink, she went on, "That was rude!"

Apparently the vamp didn't really care if it was rude or not, because the veins began to crawl from below his eyes as they grew darker. Fangs bared, he threw up his hands, and Caroline instantly went to block him, only to have him change directions and kick her feet out from under her. She hit the ground with a thud, gasping as the air burst from her lungs and her axe flew from her hand.

The vamp took this extra second to his advantage, and jumped on her, throwing a punch to her face. Caroline instantly felt blood in her mouth, her cheek going numb from pain, but there was no time to dwell on _that_.

All she saw was teeth coming at her before she threw her knee up in a well-placed position directly to his groin. The vamp growled out in pain and she pushed him off of her with force, dirt instantly clouding her vision as a cloud of it came off his clothes.

Coughing, she charged at her axe that had been thrown a few feet away and grabbed it. Swiveling on her heal, she saw the vamp charging her and quickly threw all her weight into her swing. The axe sliced through flesh and bone with a sickening noise, only to be followed by a heart-stopping _Thud_.

The Slayer let out the breath she hadn't known she had been holding in and her eyes instantly found her friends, about fifteen feet away. Stefan was holding Elena tightly, and the brunette looked more than a little shocked.

For a moment, Caroline thought it was from her being knocked down, and then she noticed where their eyes were looking. She looked down at where the body was, or would have been before it turned to ash. It took her a few seconds to realize her friends had just watched her behead someone.

The rush of the fight seemed to die inside her as she quickly rushed over to them, brushing a few loose strands of hair that had come free of her messy bun from her face. "Are you okay?" she asked hesitantly.

Elena didn't say anything, but nodded. "We're fine. Good work, Care," Stefan spoke up, giving her a small smile. For some reason, it didn't do much to make her feel reassured like it normally would have.

She wanted to say something, _anything_, to make Elena feel better. But what was she going to say to make that image any better?

"Lets get you home."

_Okay, that's definitely the _last_ time they come patrolling with me._

* * *

Caroline wasn't that surprised the next morning when she was only met by Stefan, but it didn't stop the worried feeling that was growing in her gut. Elena had called out sick.

"Don't worry about it," Stefan said, and Caroline looked over at him as they walked to first period together. "She'll be fine. We knew what we were getting into when we went out there."

"Yeah, but its a hell of a lot different _seeing_ it happen. When it's not happening to Albert, that is." Caroline was trying for humor, and she could see the corner of Stefan's mouth curl upward slightly, which was enough for now. It was more than anyone usually got out of Stefan, anyway.

They made it to class just as the second bell sounded for class to begin.

"Aren't you supposed to be at school or something or other?" Klaus said, again watching the construction continue. He hated living in a hotel suite, no matter how grand it was, and he found himself becoming increasingly more irritated every day he had to wait for their new home to be ready.

He had even gone as far as compelling the workers to move faster, though without screwing up. He wouldn't be able to stand even a nail out of place.

"Aren't _you_ supposed to be moving on your plans?" Rebekah's voice responded. Soon she had walked directly in front of him, forcing his gaze away from the work.

Klaus smirked, "I asked you first."

She rolled her eyes, much to his pleasure. "Well I'm not going to sit through some dullard talking about things he didn't even _live_ through, am I? I'm just going for the fun bits."

He could hardly be surprised. Rebekah had been through college at least ten times, as had the rest of them, so he couldn't exactly envision her sitting in a high school history class. He nodded.

"And Cheerleading practice?" he said, taking in her appearance.

"What's wrong with that? It's... entertaining. Oh, and that reminds me," Rebekah said, the expression of a lioness about to pounce taking over her features, "I met the Slayer."

"I see, and did you two get along?" he asked, though he was sure he already knew the answer.

"Of course, other than the fact that she's completely useless at being captain. I can't believe she'd be a very good Slayer if _that's_ how she moves."

Klaus pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation before moving on.

"Well," he began, "in answer to your question, I _am_ moving on my plans. I am overseeing our home being built, and then I'm moving on to the next phase."

"The next phase?" Rebekah countered, obviously trying to get more information out of him.

He merely smiled, nodding.

"Ugh, fine!" she groaned, throwing up her hands, "Don't tell me! Just let me know when things get interesting."

And with that, she was gone and he could breathe again.

But only for a moment.

Klaus turned on the spot, "Elijah."

"Hello, Niklaus," he said as calmly as ever.

Klaus couldn't help but notice how the dust didn't seem to even dare touch Elijah's suit. God himself wouldn't dare.

"What can I help you with?"

"I was just checking in with you. I couldn't stand another moment in room this town likes to call a suite."

Klaus chuckled. "Well, there's not much to tell yet. Though I do have some good news."

Elijah raised his eyebrow, waiting for him to continue.

"Our home will be ready within the week," hardly containing his grin.

"I see," Elijah said simply, giving a quick glance over Klaus' shoulder. It wasn't exactly the reaction he was looking for. "Well, I will be overjoyed to see the outcome, Niklaus, but please excuse me."

And before Klaus could even answer, Elijah was gone in a flash.

Klaus sighed.

* * *

Elijah was tired. The running, the hiding, the constant moving. And even now, with Niklaus trying his hardest to bring the family together and get rid of their common enemy in one place, once and for all, they were not all together.

Rebekah was of course running off to find her human fix, while Kol was God knows where doing Devil knows what. And Niklaus? Niklaus was building a house, like he did everywhere they may settle down in.

At least Elijah had decided to rent out their estates, bringing in just a little extra money. Not that they really needed it.

After leaving his brother to oversee the construction, he found himself walking the streets of the small town they were now residing in. Mystic Falls didn't have anything like fine dining or extreme clubs to bring in the wealthy, but there was old money in the town, and it seemed to have a certain amount of charm.

With his hands in his pockets, Elijah turned a corner and found himself walking towards a seemingly deserted playground. Not the kind where skateboarders would be found smoking pot in a tight huddle, but the kind where children might be seen sliding down a huge plastic slide, or swinging happily.

And on one of said swings, was a young woman, though she didn't exactly look happy.

Elijah found himself moving towards her, if for no better use than to have a distraction from the constant intrusion of thoughts caused by his siblings.

She didn't even look up as he approached her, so he came to a stop a few feet away, tugging on a cufflink. He took the extra few moments to look at the young creature. He could tell she was young, probably not even out of high school yet, though for some reason the expression she wore looked like she had seen some great tragedy that would only be read in a novel.

Carefully, Elijah cleared his throat.

Her head jerked up almost comically at the sound, and he fought the urge to chuckle. "Excuse me, I did not mean to startle you."

"Oh," she stated flatly, then looked around, taking in her surroundings, seemingly confused as to how she got there. "I'm not in your way, right?"

At this, Elijah couldn't contain the soft chuckle that burst from his lips. Because she would be in his way on a _swing_.

"Of course not. I was just walking by, and couldn't help but notice how upset you looked." It only occurred to him then that it was probably strange for a complete stranger to walk up to someone in a park, but ah well. "I find it can sometimes help to bestow your problems on a stranger, rather than loved ones."

It was true, too. Unfortunately, his problems tended to be about his family, and they weren't exactly _normal_ topics of discussion among civilized parties.

The girl looked square in his eyes then, her dark browns locking with his, most likely mulling his words over in her head. He couldn't help but find the look rather endearing on her. After a few silent moments though, she seemed to come to the same conclusion and smiled. It was dazzling.

"Pull up a swing, Sir," she said, motioning to the swing next to her.

He almost blanched. Elijah Mikaelson, sitting on a swing in the middle of a park, in a ten thousand dollar suite? What on earth?

And yet, he found himself sitting, his hands coming up on either side of him to hold onto the metal chain links. He looked over at her and found her staring back, the same wide smile on her face.

Her brown hair blew across her jaw in the slight breeze as she rocked back and forth on her toes. Then she looked away, and he felt some kind of pull on her gaze snap back on him like a rubber band.

"So, are you going to tell me what's troubling you?" Elijah was surprised to find that he was actually interested in her answer. It seemed strange that anything could bother such a beautiful girl in such a willful time of her life.

She sighed next to him and looked out towards the road, though she obviously was seeing something else. "I saw my friend do something – not really bad, and I've seen her do the same kind of thing a bunch of times – but it was still so..." she trailed off.

He waited a few beats before pressing her, "It was so what?"

"Wrong." She finished, obviously finding the best word to describe it to him. She looked over at him then, "I know it wasn't wrong, but seeing it happen for real still felt like it went against everything I've ever thought right."

She looked away again then, down at her lap where her hands were now tangled together. He felt the sudden urge to reach over and grasp them, to give this stranger some kind of comfort, but as always, Elijah composed himself.

"Well, have you spoken with her about this?" he asked.

She shrugged, "There's really nothing to talk about. I just need to get over it."

"Something tells me you're not finding it so easy."

She gave him a wry look, though the corner of her mouth pulled into a small smirk. "I guess not."

Elijah then stood up, moving to stand in front of her, "Well, as a stranger who knows nothing about the situation, I would give you one piece of advice." She looked up at him, waiting on his every word. "Speak to your friend. If it's something that truly wasn't meant to hurt you, she will be able to put it right, in some way, to ease your pain."

Her mouth popped open slightly before she closed it, then opened it again to say, "Thank you."

"Of course," he said, giving her a small smile and a incline of the head. "I hope to see you again..?"

"Elena," she said, standing up suddenly and holding out her hand for him to shake.

"Elijah," he answered her silent question, taking her hand in his, though instead of shaking it, he brushed his lips against her knuckles. "A pleasure, Elena."

* * *

With some new found confidence, Elena found herself walking back home with a bounce in her step. She had a plan; she would just talk to Caroline about what had happened last night, like an adult. God, when did they become _adults_? She could still remember a time when they would bicker over their favorite toy, and then later their favorite crush.

Now, apparently they were going to bicker over Caroline chopping someone's head off. _Excellent_.

Opening the door, Elena made her way through to the kitchen to find her Aunt Jenna on the phone, just before she hung up. The dirty blonde then turned to face her, a smile spreading over her lips.

Elena couldn't help but sense some tension in her Aunt's expression, but she shrugged it off. "Hey, I just wanted to let you know I'm gonna be late tomorrow after school. I'm gonna watch Caroline practice with Stefan."

Jenna's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion, "Stefan joined the squad?"

"Ew," Elena said, suddenly getting the image of Stefan in a squad uniform, "no, he and I are watching together."

"Oh, right." Jenna said, obviously realizing her error. "So..."

Elena could sense her hesitation immediately, and she had a feeling she knew what was coming.

"You didn't go to school today."

And there it was. Elena had never once skipped school in all her years, and she couldn't help but feel a little guilty. It wasn't like she could tell Jenna _why_ she skipped, so she started mulling over excuses. It probably would have been smart to come up with something while she was thinking during the day. _Crap._

"Yeah, sorry," she said lamely, inwardly wincing.

To her surprise though, Jenna just shrugged, "Are you kidding? It's about time you started acting like a teenager..." She then moved forward, leaning on the kitchen counter as she gave Elena a mischievous look, "So, is it a boy?"

Elena giggled, but for some reason her thoughts immediately went to the handsome stranger who had stopped to talk to her in the park. _Elijah_, she remembered, thinking back on the way his lips at lightly grazed her knuckles. It sent a shiver down her spine, but she quickly recovered.

"No," she shook her head, her hands finding her back pockets, "I just really didn't want to go to school today."

Jenna gave her a long look before shrugging again and walking around the counter and past her into the living room. "Okay, but next time you feel like playing hooky, let me know. We could go shopping."

Elena laughed.

* * *

Caroline had wanted to call Elena all night, but she resisted, though it didn't stop her from taking her cell phone out and glaring at it a few times before closing it again.

Her friend drama was really getting in the way of her Slayer drama. Where the hell were all the vamps? She was bored out of her mind... couldn't someone just raise from the dead already?

Then, as though the universe was taking pity on her, Caroline heard the familiar crunch of underbrush behind her. She whipped around, her axe at the ready, only to huff.

"Seriously?"

"Are you really so sorry to see me, love?" Klaus said, walking out of the woods, pulling a shirt over his bare chest.

She only looked a little. Really.

"I would say no, but..." She cocked her head, smirking at him as he walked towards her, stopping a few feet away. "And I'm not your _love_."

He was meandering, running his fingers over a particularly tall gravestone, and wiping the dust off of them with a grimace. "I heard you met my dear sister."

Caroline's eyes bulged, "Your sister? I did?"

"Mm, I'm sure you two are getting along _famously_."

It dawned on her like some kind of sick joke, "_Rebekah?!_"

"Indeed," he smirked, creating an intense urge to punch him in the face.

"Figures."

"I see you're having a shortage of vampires to kill," he said, casually ignoring her response.

Caroline shrugged, her axe arm dropping to her side seeing as she wasn't really sensing a threat from him at the moment. "Not a _shortage_," she answered, "the Slaying is just looking a little slim right now. _Not_ exactly a bad thing."

His eyes caught hers at that as his lips curled into a knowing smirk, "Then why do you look so low, Caroline?"

Her name from his lips sent a little shiver through her that she quickly brushed off, "I'm not low."

"No?"

"No."

And then he was suddenly charging her. She didn't even have the time to react before he had knocked her to the ground, his body holding her down. Caroline glared up at him, but he quickly pinned her arms to her sides, effectively annihilating any chance of using her axe.

"Then why don't we have a little fun?"

The way he looked at her then made her think that maybe his version of _fun_ wasn't the usual kind, especially the way his eyes seemed to be growing darker as they took her in.

"Fun? What did you have in mind?"

He smirked, giving her one last glance, then got up, pulling her up with him. Caroline quickly dashed for her axe as he turned around. She didn't feel comfortable without it, especially not after _that_. Whatever _that_ was, anyway.

But he was already walking away. "You'll see soon enough," he called back.

* * *

"It was really frickin weird, okay?" Caroline said in hushed tones as she and Stefan sat together at lunch. She hadn't even started eating yet, because as soon as they had sat down, she started telling him about her run in last night with Niklaus Mikaelson.

"Sounds it," was all he said, checking his phone in between bites of his sandwich. His lack of input wasn't out of the ordinary, but she did find it somewhat annoying at the moment.

Caroline narrowed her eyes, "And who are _you_ talking to?"

"Hm?" he said, looking up at her mid bite, "Oh, just Elena."

At the mention of their mutual best friend, Caroline perked up immediately. She hadn't heard anything from her at all yesterday, nor that morning. Apparently she had been talking to _Stefan_ though, and that sent an unwanted surge of jealousy through her.

"Oh... How's she doing?" She asked casually.

"_She_," said a voice from behind Caroline, causing her to turn in her chair, "is standing right here."

Caroline gave her a hesitant smile as she watched Elena take the seat between them at the round cafeteria table. "Hey," she said, trying to gauge her friends mood.

"Hey," Elena said, smiling back at her, with the same amount of hesitation.

"Hey!" Stefan said, smirking like a fool with his sandwich in front of him, obviously enjoying the show.

Both Caroline and Elena rolled their eyes.

The rest of lunch went by seemingly quiet while they all actually ate lunch. Stefan was done before both of them, seeing as he started eating before both girls. Picking up his bag from the floor, he excused himself to get to History.

Caroline narrowed her eyes, her eyebrows scrunching together, "What's up with him?"

"I don't know, I guess maybe he really likes his History class this year?" Elena supplied, taking her eyes away from the doorway that Stefan had just disappeared through. She looked back at Caroline and the blonde tried to look as though nothing was wrong. There wasn't, was there?

Then the bell rang.

Elena sighed, and they both got up to collect their things. Throwing their trash away on the way out, Caroline realized that they both had study hall together, which meant free period for them, seeing as they were seniors. They usually spent it together, but after the other night...

"I'm fine, Care." Elena said next to her as they walked towards their lockers to put their things away for the period.

Caroline looked over at her, a look of apprehension crossing over her features. "Are you sure? I know it must have freaked you out..."

"It did. I don't know why it hit me so hard, except that it was so... graphic. But I'm good, now."

Elena sounded so sure, and Caroline turned, opening her locker with the usual screech. "You are?" It seemed like Elena had gotten around to feeling better pretty quickly.

"Yeah, I actually talked to this guy in the park about what happened – well, not really," she added at the look of shock on Caroline's face, then went on, "and he said I should just talk to you."

"But we haven't even talked yet..." Caroline chuckled.

Elena matched her chuckle, closing her locker and met Caroline as they started walking towards the entrance and their favorite hang out spot out front. "I know, but I've been thinking... and I should have been expecting it to be like that. I think watching you with Albert-"

"We really need to stop calling the dummy Albert."

"-just didn't prepare me for what I would see." Elena finished, pointedly ignoring Caroline's input.

The blonde smirked before her expression changed to something more along the lines of concern, "I promise, you don't need to come on patrol again. It's not safe anyway, and you really shouldn't have to see that stuff. Well, not live, anyway."

Elena stopped dead, causing Caroline to back up a step. "Did you not just hear me? I can't _just_ watch you with Albert." She paused when Caroline coughed. "Don't you get it? I'm not going to stop being your friend, and this is who you are now, and I want to be involved. So I need to get used to it."

Caroline couldn't help the warm feeling that spread through her chest at her friends words, but she shook her head all the same. "You shouldn't have to get used to it, 'Lena. It's not exactly normal to witness frequent decapitations," Caroline said, lowering her voice at the end.

The brunette rolled her eyes, a smile forming on her lips, "Well, I'm not going anywhere. And what you do, Care... it's... amazing. And I want to be able to help you, no matter what."

Suddenly, there was a warm moistness in her eyes, and Caroline blinked quickly, pushing back the tears. She didn't know what to say, so she just pulled Elena into a hug.

Elena let out a giggle before Caroline released her, the blonde's expression turning mischievous. "So," she began as the two moved out the doors into the bright sunshine, "who's this stranger in the park?"

The giggles were cut off only by the closing of the doors.

* * *

**I know, I know, not a lot of Klaroline yet... But there will be! Oh, there will be.**

**Thank you SO MUCH for everyone who is giving this story a try. I'm attempting something completely different from The Canterville Ghost, and I was always a fan of BtVS... I have a lot of plans for this, but if anyone has any special requests or ideas, don't hesitate to say. (:**

**So, until next time!**


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